Ghost of a Chance

Omake 4: Preparations for Reversing the Curse

Since it was the perfect place to craft wooden dolls without being disturbed, Hitomi suggested they go to the Matsumoto residence to use her workshop. She had been officially promoted from 'apprentice' to 'master' recently, so she now had her own private space to work without having to share the tools and materials the rest of the apprentices used. But the moment she, Naru, and Lin set foot inside the main house, they were waylaid by three of her younger cousins. The two girls were wearing children's kimonos, and the boy was still wearing his school uniform.

"Yay~! Hitomi-nee's back~!" exclaimed a young girl who looked about eight.

"Hitomi-nee~!" a little girl around six-years-old cheered.

"Ah. She brought her boss again," said a boy who appeared to be ten.

"Naru-nii-chan!" the girls cheered. "Where's Mai-chan?" they asked.

"And who's the oji-san?" the boy asked bluntly, looking at Lin.

"Oji-san!" the girls parroted with bright smiles.

Lin sweat-dropped as he stared down at the children, who were all fluttering and chirping around them like a brood of baby chicks.  'Oji-san?' he thought, chagrined.

"Hey, now. You're being rude, Dai-chan," Hitomi chided the boy, giving him a light chop on the head. "Mai-chan couldn't come today," she told the girls with an apologetic smile.

"Awww!" the little girls said, obviously disappointed. Just then, a girl around the age of twelve, who was wearing a sailor-style school uniform, came sliding into view.

"I'm gonna get yo—Oh, the bishounen's back!" she exclaimed, blushing bright red when she realized they had company. "Okaa-san! We have guests!" she shouted towards the inner recesses of the large house.

"Akane-chan..." Hitomi said wryly, sweat-dropping.

"Oh, my. If it isn't Shibuya-san. Hello, again," their mother greeted Naru politely with a ladylike smile as she came over to meet them. "And hello, ...?"

"This is Lin, my other assistant," Naru said.

"Pleased to meet you, Lin-san," she greeted him with a bow.

"Momoka-nee-san. We're here for work today, so we'll be in my workshop if you need me for anything, but we're probably going to be working through the night," Hitomi explained.

"I see. Then, I'll bring you some tea and ask Hina-nee-san to make sure some clean futons will be available in one of the guest rooms if you need to rest."

"We appreciate it," Naru said.

"Thanks, Momoka-nee-san," Hitomi told her aunt with a smile before turning back to the guys. "Come on, it's this way," she said, leading them to her workshop.

Since Naru had met most of the Matsumoto family during his visit with Mai for Obon, he received a fairly warm welcome from those who recognized him. They were polite to Lin since it was their first time meeting him, but Hitomi's two youngest cousins had taken to peeking at him from around the corners with a sort of shy curiosity. Most of the adults were busy carrying out work of their own, and her grandfather was visiting a sick friend, so they were left to their own devices after a quick greeting.

Hitomi's workshop was small, but large enough for the three of them to be able to move around comfortably inside. The first thing she did was tie her kimono's sleeves back and put on an apron. "We'll be using paulownia wood, right?" she asked, sliding open the large cabinet where she kept her extra wood. "Fortunately, we have a lot of that lying around. If this isn't enough, we can collect scraps from the other workshops."